Swallow a Thousand Needles
by TheSilverHunt3r
Summary: If anyone else—alive—had been there, it would have been an unusual sight to see the Boss of the Port Mafia promised to protect a traumatized child, even odder to see that the child believed him. Dad!Mori, Q-centric, oneshot.


Summary: If anyone else—alive—had been there, it would have been an unusual sight to see the Boss of the Port Mafia promised to protect a traumatized child, even odder to see that the child believed him. Dad!Mori, Q-centric, oneshot.

The man wore a long black coat. A doctor's bag was beside his feet. As the bag attested to, he had been a doctor. His current profession was far more illegal however.

The boy was far smaller. He had hair that was truly white and black, but the white sections appeared black because of the blood they were soaked in. "You'll protect me?" Q asked. To him, protection and safety were a foreign idea.

"I won't just let other people hurt you," the man, Mori, said. "As for your ability. . . you'll have a choice about whether you help or not."

"Pinky promise?"

Mori smiled—it held an unusual hint of amusement and extended his finger to lock it with the boy's. "Pinky promise."

"Pinky promise, hope to die, swallow a thousand needles if you lie," Q chanted with all of the appropriate seriousness given to such promises by children.

If anyone else—alive—had been there, it would have been an unusual sight to see the Boss of the Port Mafia promised to protect a traumatized child, even odder to see that the child believed him.

XXX

Two Years Later

Q and Elise spent most of their time playing in Mori's office. They would draw and make up stories. Sometimes, they would even persuade Mori into going along with whatever story they were telling.

XXX

One Year Later

Q had been warned against using his ability on other members of the Port Mafia, even if it was for a prank.

He didn't care. He couldn't take it anymore.

He smiled as he pushed his hand against Chuuya's side. Clutched inside his fist was a shard of glass.

Something burned inside his chest whenever he looked at Chuuya. People liked Chuuya. Dazai liked Chuuya. Mori liked Chuuya. They liked him; even though Chuuya's ability was just ass dangerous.

Why was Q different?

The burning sensation in his chest twisted.

He laughed as he watched the red marks curl up Chuuya's exposed skin.

A cackle burst from Chuuya's own lips. A ball of black nothingness formed in his hands.

Q dropped the glass to the tiled floor to clap his bloodied hands together. He ignored the red and slick sensation of his blood.

The show in front of him was far more important.

Blood started to flow from Chuuya's mouth and eyes. He bared his reddened teeth in a grin.

The building shook. Windows cracked.

Q stared, enraptured. He didn't notice the black shadow behind him. A hand, bandaged from the wrist up, grabbed his collar and pulled him back from the hole in the floor. It pressed into the back of his neck. If the fingers had been longer, the person would have been strangling him with how tight a grip they had.

"Q," a voice hissed, colder than absolute zero.

Q stopped struggling. He knew who had caught him. He knew he shouldn't struggle.

"What did you think you were doing?" Dazai's voice was back to being cheerful. "Tell me or I will throw you down that pit."

The hole had become several floors deep by the time Dazai had stopped Q. Q would not survive the fall.

"Using my ability on Chuuya," Q said blandly. He shrunk in on himself as he was dragged back to the edge.

"Dazai-kun? Q-kun?" That was Mori, somewhere nearby.

Dazai's hand tightened. "If you ever do something like this again, I will kill you," he whispered in Q's ear and then let go of the younger boy's neck.

XXX

Q was officially on house arrest or, grounded, whichever one prefers to call it. This was done as part of his punishment for releasing Arahabaki. Additionally, it kept him from contact with others, which itself was the other half of the punishment and a necessary precaution.

The solution kept him from hurting others.

However. . . .

It could not keep him from hurting himself.

Elise left Q alone for a few minutes. She came back. Her hands trembled slightly. "Q!" She called, a bit desperate.

"Q?" Elise's voice went quiet, afraid.

There was still no answer.

She desummoned herself without a second thought. It was the quickest way to alert Mori that something had happened.

XXX

Mori and Dazai stood at the entrance to the kitchen. Elise was hiding behind Mori's legs, refusing to even peek out at the scene.

Q lay on the tiled, a knife embedded in his torso. The small puddle of blood around him had already started to turn gelatinous.

"I guess he caught the suicide bug from me," Dazai joked. He held up his hands and stepped back at Mori's glare. He had rarely seen his mentor display so much genuine emotion. 'Mori was well and truly miffed, perhaps even worried?' Dazai hypothesized, despite wanting to toss both the boy and idea out the window.

"Get me my doctor's bag," Mori ordered. His eyes were glued to Q, who was bleeding out on the floor once again.

XXX

Two weeks after, Mori was removing the stitches. He had surgeon's hands. He cut through each stitch with enviable precision and surety from years of experience.

Dazai had a hold of Q's neck to ensure that the boy wouldn't try using his ability. "So, how was attempting suicide?" He cajoled.

"Painful." Q's eyes were empty and dark.

Dazai smiled. His mask fell to reveal his expression mirrored Q's.

XXX

Elise was Q's usual watcher. They became friends. Q never forgot that Elise was the eyes and ears of Mori—she was his ability, more of an extension of himself than an actual girl.

XXX

Two Years Later

Q didn't know why Chuuya wasn't afraid of him. He didn't know why Chuuya wasn't mad at him.

What knew was that Chuuya was nice to him. What he knew was that Chuuya snuck him and Elise sweets. What he knew was that Chuuya was the best babysitter to get stuck with. (Which is why Q often begged for Chuuya whenever the man had a day off.)

Q decided to never use his ability on Chuuya. Now that he liked the man, he had the odd idea that he would feel whatever 'guilt' was if he used Dogma Magra on Chuuya.

XXX

Two Years Later

The hallway door of the Armed Detective Agency opened and closed quietly.

"Atushi-kun, go get Q," Dazai ordered. He had gotten up immediately on sight of the person who walked in the door. Q was in the infirmary with Yosano. To avoid further bad blood, the detectives needed to give Q back as soon as possible.

Mori stood in the middle of the Agency office. He let his eyes wander around, looking for Q. Elise had not been summoned. He wasn't there to play at posturing and open threats. He did not have time for games. He was serious about bringing Q back. Although, Elise not being summoned gave him an advantage; with his ability's range, he could summon her anywhere in the room.

"You came yourself? I'm surprised. Shouldn't you have sent someone else? Don't you have an organization to be running, Mori-san?" Dazai's voice was cheerful, a thin veneer over the mocking words.

"Chuuya is resting. Kouyou is with him. Ace is managing things," Mori listed off with a casual air.

Dazai cocked his head, widening his eyes in fake innocence. "You trust Ace enough in put him in charge?"

Mori hummed. "I trust him less here, picking up a traumatized child."

"And more where you have all of your loyal men around him?" Dazai guessed.

Mori's smile edged upwards into a smirk. That was answer enough for Dazai.

Atsushi held open the door for Q to enter the office. There was worry on his face, worry for the child who they would be letting walk back into the Port Mafia. Despite his attempts, Q had not been convinced to join the Armed Detective Agency.

Dazai stood near the entrance, watching along with his coworkers. Unlike the others, there was no concern on his face, only a smile and barely hidden interest.

Mori strolled over to the boy and held out his hand.

Q grabbed Mori's hand and pressed his closed fist against Mori's leg. He was frowning. Mori had promised he would be protected.

Mori figured out what Q was doing, but was too late to stop the boy. His grip on Q's hand stayed steady.

Q opened his hand to reveal the needle that had stabbed through the skin of his palm. "You lied," he accused. This was his revenge.

Dogma Magra activated. It wasn't mind control. Q's ability was something far more dangerous that preyed on fear with illusions. Those inflicted by Dogma Magra experienced nightmares that overlapped with reality.

Mori heard something Dazai said, something like, "Stay back." It was said to the concerned watchers, the detectives, who had front row seats to this event.

Mori almost let go of Q at the appearance of bloodied creatures swarming him. In his head, Mori snarled, 'You're going to have to do a lot more than that." He seen far worse abominations.

The ability seemed to respond to the thought. A woman appeared. It was Elise, the real Elise. He could deal with his daughter, Elise, following him around. His wife, however, was a different matter.

His grasp on Q loosened enough that the boy slipped away.

"It's an illusion. She's not alive anymore," Mori reminded himself through gritted teeth. But if she were, what would she think of him now? What would she say of what had had done, what he had become? Such thoughts were as useless. . .as they had always been.

Q had forgotten someone important.

Dazai grabbed the boy's wrist. No Longer Human cancelled out Dogma Magra. Dazai's body shielded the two Mafiosos from his coworkers.

Mori looked Q in the eye. "Do you consider that enough needles?" He rasped. His voice was raw, betraying how close he had come to screaming.

Q dropped his gaze. His heart was pounding in his ears. He realized how dangerous his position was now that he pulled that stunt.

Mori sighed. He rubbed the bridge of his nose, using the action to disguise wiping away the unwanted liquid that pooled in his eyes.

Dazai crouched down. He tugged the needle out of Q's palm. He brushed the point of it against the boy's cheek, just soft enough to not draw blood, and leaned in. "Remember what I told you about using your ability like that?"

Q locked eyes with Dazai. He couldn't look away. He was frozen to the spot, terrified.

Dazai's smile was sharp, a razor blade made into an expression.

"Dazai-kun, don't threaten Q," Mori quietly said, volume low enough that the Agency wouldn't hear the rebuke.

Dazai shrugged. He pasted a cheerful grin on his face as he stood up. "Ne, Mori-san. I'm impressed. You kept yourself from slaughtering all of us. Our apologizes for our laxness in keeping an eye on him." He spoke loudly and extended his hand.

Mori considered it for a moment before taking it.

Dazai pulled Mori up. "This is the most unstable I've seen him since that time he used it on Chuuya." His tone was unconcerned—it did not fit his words nor the quick pace he said them in.

Be careful.

"I know," Mori replied, equally as contradictory in his bland, unaffected voice.

I will.

Mori offered Q his hand, bending forward slightly.

The Agency watched the whole thing warily.

Atsushi shivered, remembering his time under Dogma Magra. He had gone mad. If not for Dazai stopping him, he would have killed the clerks.

Q stood up, then grabbed Mori's hand.

Mori's countenance was back to cheerful, as if he hadn't been experiencing his worst fear only seconds before. "Alright then. We'll be leaving."

The detectives didn't dare to stop them.

Q walked out onto the street with the knowledge that he was returning to the Port Mafia, holding the hand of the Boss-who he had just injured and used his ability on—and watched from the window by Dazai. He felt his hand being squeezed in a comforting manner. He looked up at Mori.

"Don't worry. I won't let Dazai-kun do anything to you." Mori pulled out his car keys. "But. . .you will be punished for using your ability on me, in some way. There's no getting out of that."

"Don't hurt me," Q whispered.

Mori crouched down. "How about this: we won't hurt each other."

"Pinky promise?" Q extended his pinky.

Mori smiled, hooking his pinky with Q's. "Pinky promise," he agreed.

This was a promise they both would keep.

A/N

Q: *uses ability*

Dazai *intervenes*

Mori: *walks in* "What's going on?"

Dazai *makes various threatening gestures to Q behind Mori's back*

That's it. That's Dazai's and Q's relationship. Also, the tl;dr of this fic.

Dazai is annoyed for a few good reasons. He has some points. He just needs to go about them in a better way. Q. . . needs therapy, and some medication.

If you want to know more about Elise, look up The Dancing Girl by Ougai Mori.

Mori is trying his best out here. But he has two pretty messed up kids that don't get along.

—Silver


End file.
